Soul Nebula - IC 1848
I set out with the goal of creating a perfect and noiseless image.
The first attempt is 14 hours of 5 minute subs. 165 of them to be exact. The original plan for first processing was two full nights of 9-10 hours, but the first night my camera had an error when I was sleeping and 5 hours of clear skies was lost.
I am using the William Optics FLT 132 for the first real time that isn't just testing and I am absolutely blown away by the image quality. On the full frame Canon EOS Ra with the WO 68III field flattener my stars are clear to the very edges. I wanted an image that would have virtually no crop on the full frame sensor and this delivers.
The next challenge is the sustained winter winds of Estes Park. 15mph sustained with 25mph gusts were no match for the EQ6-R Pro. I originally took 176 subs and only culled 11 during the first Blink. I suspect the quality of my images going forward will dramatically improve with a setup this stable and optics this crisp.
Object: IC 1848 - Soul Nebula
Exposure: 165x300sec (13 hours 45 minutes)
Camera: Canon EOS Ra
Optics: William Optics Fluorostar 132 - WO 68III Field Flattener (f/7, 925mm)
Filter: Optolong L-Extreme
Mount: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
Bortle Scale: 4
Software: Fully processed in PixInsight with Adam Block Fundamentals including WBPP, PCC, DBE, StarDeEmphasis
